The States - part 4

Kel at Father's Office 2 in LA
My first round of tasters at Elysian Capitol Hill, Seattle.
Dick Cantwell, head brewer and owner of Elysian in Seattle.
A typical Seattle supermarket beer aisle!!

After NY came LA where we checked out Fathers Office 2 (the original, Fathers Office, was where I was first introduced to craft beer) which was fantastic. It's quite slick in its decor but done very well. The staff were excellent and the tap beer selection and food very good.

There are plenty of dive beer bars in the States (which I personally like) but more places like FO2 will help sell craft beer to a broader audience. While in LA, I also re-visited Library Ale House and The Daily Pint.

We flew into Seattle on Monday and after settling in to a lovely B&B, headed off to locate the local Pike Brewpub and The Stumbling Monk.

That night we visited Uber Tavern which (along with Brouwers) seems to be the best for beer in town. It's very small and friendly. Ken behind the bar looked after us brilliantly and we had a great conversation about the local scene..

It seems that for many (not all) beer lovers in the States, it's pretty much all about the big, extreme or seasonal beers. One customer at Uber told me that bar loyalty is less important than where the beer he wants is. Given this demand, there is apparently fierce competition between venues to secure a beer either first or exclusively.

For mine, I think it's fun trying these new big, extreme or seasonal beers but there's also a time for more traditional styles done well (which my brewer pals say is just as hard, if not harder, to brew).

On many of these venues' menus, beers under 6% ABV may make up less than 10% of the tap list, hardly encouraging people to hang around for a session..

Anyway, later checked out Brouwers Café, Beveridge Place Pub, Collins Pub and Elysian Capitol Hill (where I met the renowned brewer/owner Dick Cantwell). The Stumbling Monk will have to wait until I get back there on Friday.

We've now just arrived in Portland (3 hours drive south) and am stealing myself for another night of bar hopping. On the menu? Horse Brass Pub, Belmont Station, Deschutes, Widmer, Bailey's Taproom, Laurelwood Public House, Henry's 12th Street Tavern, Concordia Ale House and, of course, Rogues..

Wish me luck..

Here's a list of a few more beers I've downed (samples of mostly):

Chuckanut Pilsner (blah)

Double Mountain Hop Lava

Elsyian Zephyrus Pils

Elsyian Perseus Porter

Elsyian The Wise ESB

Elsyian Bye Bye Frost

Elsyian Immortal IPA

Elsyian AK-47 Malt Liquor

Elsyian Valhalla Christmas Ale

Elsyian Toro Oro Mate Tripel

Elsyian Prometheus IPA

Elsyian Bete Noel Belgian-style ale

Laguinitas Brown Shugga

Lost Abbey Angel's Share

Southern Tier Oat stout

Alesmith Anvil ESB

Russian River Pliny the Elder Double IPA

I've added a bunch of new photos to the photo album below..